Things That Go Bump in the Night
by It's Almost A Secret
Summary: A series of loosely connected oneshots focusing on Seras during the 30 year gap in the OVA.
1. Scene 1

**So I wrote a few oneshots for myself recently after watching the OVA for the first time and I was debating whether or not to publish them. Since I wrote them for my own enjoyment they're a little bit self indulgent and may not be the best I've ever done. Still, I figured they were already written so why not. There might be someone out there who'll enjoy them.**

 **Anyway this is just going to be a series of loosely connected oneshots focusing on Seras during the 30 year gap in the story. Some are from her POV and some are from the POV of others but they all focus on Seras at least somewhat because I found her the most interesting to write about. Anyway that's all I have to say. Here's the first story.**

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Seras flew through the night, the charred remains of what had once been London smoldering beneath her as she leapt through the streets. The city she had once known was no more, leaving in its wake a cruel reminder of the horrors the British Empire had endured.

It had only been hours since Seras and Integra had defeated the Major and put an end to the war he had been trying to wage. It had only been slightly longer than that since her Master had disappeared, his existence supposedly ended by the blood of Schrodinger he had consumed.

Seras didn't buy it.

She had seen her Master survive having his head cut off, being blown to tiny bits and any number of other impossible scenarios. She refused to believe a cheap trick was all it would take to destroy the vampire Alucard. He would return one day, and until then she would wait. The problem was what to do with herself for that potentially lengthy stretch of time.

With her Master gone, Seras was no longer technically bound to the Hellsing Organization. She had been bound to Alucard and he in turn to Integra, and so Seras had been obligated to the organization through her bonds to her Master. Now that Alucard was gone that was no longer the case. In honesty, Seras wasn't even sure if there even was a Hellsing Organization anymore. The troops were dead, the mansion destroyed and Alucard had disappeared. The once mighty organization had fallen.

It appeared that Seras was on her own and the choice of what to do with her future lay before her.

The thought was almost completely foreign. Seras had known very little freedom in her short life. From the young age of four until she had turned eighteen she had lived in the orphanage and had been forced to live under the supervision of adults who cared very little for her wellbeing. Once she'd been old enough to leave she'd joined the police force, and she had barely been out of training when she'd died and been turned by Alucard. All her life Seras had been bound by rules and orders and regulations and it had so far been the same in death.

The thought that her fate was her own now was almost impossible to wrap her head around.

Seras braced as her feet hit the ground again. She could feel the dying embers in the rubble around her as it crunched beneath her boots. The smells of blood and death were almost overwhelming. Seras supposed she might be sickened by them had she still possessed a human nose.

Shortly after the end of the day's incidents, Seras had made sure that Sir Integra would receive proper medical care for the wounds she had sustained and then had taken her leave. Yet she had realized almost immediately that she had nowhere else to go. Sir Integra was practically the last person on earth Seras knew. With the Hellsing mansion completely destroyed and almost everyone who had been in their employ deceased, Seras found that her freedom had brought with it a profound loneliness.

With nothing else to do she had set her sights on London. No one else would dare go near the wreckage, but Seras had wanted to see it for herself. Besides, she thought there might still be survivors buried amongst the rubble and ash. No aid had been sent in after the end of the disaster. No one seemed to want to set foot in the city after all of the horrors it had witnessed.

Seras supposed she couldn't blame them for that. Even as she made her way through the wreckage all she saw were the bloody remains of ghouls and humans and vampires littering the street. The idea that anyone had survived this slaughter was almost too impossible to imagine.

As she wandered the streets it dawned on Seras how strange it was that she felt no fear in such a situation. Here she was, walking amongst corpses, aware of the possibility that there could still be vampire freaks hiding out in the wreckage, and yet she was not afraid. Seras no longer had cause to fear monsters. She was one.

Seras suspected she was likely not even aware of all of her newfound powers yet. Everything had happened so fast after drinking Pip's blood that she'd hardly had any time to adjust to her new state of being before she'd flown off into the night to join the fight. It was likely that she had not explored the true extent of her abilities.

The idea was unsettling. True, Seras had been a police officer before but even then she'd been a bit meek and timid. The men on her squad had often teased her fondly and called her Kitten. Now she was a creature that had ripped through an army of vampire soldiers with almost no resistance, and was likely capable of much more than that.

Seras shivered a bit at the thought. Perhaps she still had one monster to fear after all. She knew what it felt like to lose control. Sometimes in the heat of battle she became something else entirely, a creature intent on nothing but murder and bloodshed. What would happen if she one day lost control for good? With Alucard gone was there anyone who would be able to stop her? Seras wrapped her arms around herself as she walked. The more of a monster she became, the more important the tenuous grip she had on her humanity seemed.

Seras was shaken from her thoughts when a new scent reached her nose amidst the smells of death and decay. All of her senses had been sharpened more than ten fold since she'd become a true vampire and she was still not quite used to them. She paused for a moment, trying to place the smell, before she realized it was the scent of human blood. It was not the dried and decaying smell from the corpses around her either. This was fresh.

Intrigued, Seras sniffed the air again and began to follow the scent. It was possible this affair had some survivors after all. That thought in mind, she made her way down the street. There were still no other signs of life.

She came to a stop before a house towards the middle of the street. Most of the left side had been blown away and the roof had collapsed but, to its credit, the building was still standing. The scent was almost certainly coming from inside.

Seras felt strangely self-conscious as she stepped across the threshold of the ruined building. The inside was pitch black but she could the devastation that had been wrought with perfect clarity. The floor was covered with soot and ash and the crumbled remains of the left wall were scattered across the carpet. Moonlight trickled in through a rather large and gaping hole that part of the ceiling had once occupied.

The corpse of a woman lay near the stairs. She had clearly been mauled by ghouls, as her face was destroyed beyond recognition and the limbs on the left side of her body had been torn off. The blood stained nightgown she was wearing was the only indication of gender. It appeared she had taken her attackers down with her though. A shotgun lay near the arm that was still attached and the bodies of several ghouls surrounded her, their heads clearly blown off by shotgun fire. Seras turned away from the sight. It was not the source of the scent she was tracking.

Seras made her way further into the house. Her heavy boots creaked eerily on the floorboards as she walked, the sound seemingly amplified by the silence. She felt not unlike a hunter stalking its prey. The thought was not a pleasant one.

A new sound reached her ears now, soft and nearly imperceptible. It was the sound of quiet but ragged breathing coming from somewhere nearby. Someone was still alive in this house.

Spurred onwards by the thought, Seras quickened her pace towards the source of the disturbance.

She came to a halt in the doorway of what appeared to be a child's bedroom. It took almost no thought to pinpoint the source of both the bloody scent and the breathing. Whoever was alive in here was underneath the small, four-poster bed in the corner.

Seras entered the room slowly, unsure of how to proceed. The scent of blood was strong now. It was likely the survivor had been injured.

"Hello," she called out, "are you hurt?"

She waited for a moment but there was no response. She supposed it was possible the person had fallen unconscious from blood loss or injury.

Without further hesitation she crossed the room to stand before the bed. With little effort she reached out with the shadows that had taken the place of her left arm and lifted it into the air, revealing the terrified form of a small child.

At the sight of Seras the boy's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he screamed, "No! Please! Stay away!" as he scrambled back on his elbows and pressed himself up against the wall. He was shaking uncontrollably and there were tears streaming down his face. He had a series of long lacerations on his left arm that had torn through the sleeve of the tattered rocket ship pajamas he was wearing.

Seras probably shouldn't have been as taken aback as she was by the boy's reaction. She hadn't even spared a thought to the fact that she must appear terrifying. Her Hellsing uniform was still splattered with blood from previous fights and that, in combination with her fangs, glowing red eyes and the ethereal shadows where her arm should be, would likely frighten the life out of a grown adult, let alone a child. Even her voice had taken on a strange and otherworldly echo. Seras was so used to being seen as a non-threatening airhead of a girl that she hadn't yet realized she would be viewed quite differently now.

"H-hey," she said, waving her free hand in font of her frantically, "It's all right I'm not going to hurt you." With that she placed the boy's bed back on the ground and recalled the shadows to her side.

The boy either didn't hear Seras or didn't believe her because her words did little to assuage his fears.

"No! Monster! Stay away from me!" he shouted again. This time he sprang to his feet and tried to make a dash for the door.

Seras had almost no time to react. She didn't want the boy running off into the wreckage outside on his own but he didn't seem inclined to listen to her suggestions at the moment. Without thinking she shot her shadowy arm out again and used it to stop the boy in his tracks. He struggled against her, still screaming and flailing wildly as he tried to escape.

Seras felt terrible as she witnessed the fear she was inflicting on the boy. She crossed the room to where he was at a brisk pace and laid her human hand on his shoulder.

"Hey come on, it's all right," she said softly, "I already told you I'm not going to hurt you."

The sound of her voice seemed to have some effect this time. Though he was still letting out hiccupped sobs, the boy stopped his frantic attempts to escape her grasp. He looked up at her through teary eyes.

"Y-you're a vampire!" he choked out, wriggling in her grasp a couple more times before he seemed to realize the effort was futile.

"Well yes, but I'm a nice vampire," she said, indicating the patch on the breast of her uniform, "I work for an organization called Hellsing and we fight the bad vampires."

Seras was truthfully not sure if that was still the case but the explanation would hopefully serve for the moment. The boy looked as though he was skeptical but at least seemed to have calmed considerably. Now that Seras had a closer look she noted that he was about six or seven years old, far too young for the horrors he'd endured. As she stared at him she was suddenly reminded of the tragedies of her own youth. She released him from her grasp and her shadows returned to her side.

"What's your name?" she asked him. He did not try to run this time. Seras supposed that even if he was still frightened he'd likely realized there was nowhere for him to go.

"Brandon," he said. He was still sniffling but his tears had dried for the most part.

"I'm Seras," she said, giving what she hoped was a comforting smile, though she knew her fangs were likely showing.

Brandon sniffled again. He was looking her up and down. She saw his eyes linger on the shadows trailing off from her shoulder and then again when they fell on her fangs.

"You're scary," he said in a small voice, shying away from her slightly.

Seras smiled sadly. She hadn't quite got the hang of making herself look more human yet, but she suspected she'd be able to if she practiced at it. She vowed to look into it the first chance she got, lest she be doomed to an eternity of frightening small children.

"Well I'm sorry I frightened you. I didn't mean to," she responded.

Brandon looked her up and down one more time before asking, "Are you really a nice vampire?"

Seras smiled again. "Well I try to be." She noticed that Brandon was clutching his wounded arm, which still seemed to be bleeding. Changing the subject she asked, "What happened to your arm, Brandon?"

The boy looked down at his wound as though noticing it for the first time. As soon as his eyes fell on it he jerked them back up to look at Seras. The idea of bleeding in front of a vampire seemed to make him nervous. Still, he responded, "One of the monsters scratched me when they came into our house. It was really scary. Mommy told me to hide so I hid under the bed but I didn't know when to come out."

Seras thought back to the mangled corpse she'd seen in the hallway and flinched. The gruesome scene made sense to her now. The woman had protected her son at the cost of her own life.

Brandon's eyes had begun to tear up again. "Do you know what happened to my mommy?" he asked.

Seras was at a loss for words. This was not the kind of situation she felt apt to handle. Was she really expected to tell this boy his mother was dead? For a moment she considered lying but decided that would be crueler in the end. The boy had a right to the truth.

Taking a deep breath, Seras responded, "I'm sorry Brandon. I'm sure your mother loved you very much. She gave her life to make sure you were safe."

Brandon took a step back and stammered, "What? N-no," just as Seras realized she likely could have handled the situation a bit more delicately. Before she could react Brandon sat backwards and burst into tears.

Seras was really at a loss now. She'd never had much experience with children and this was a bit too much for her to handle. She looked back and forth for a moment as though expecting some sort of aid to appear from out of the blue. When none was forthcoming she did the only thing she could think to. Kneeling down on one knee she pulled the boy into a hug with her human arm. He didn't react at first but after a few moments he wrapped one of his arms around her neck. She could feel his entire body shaking with the sobs. She could also smell the blood coming off of his wounds and how tantalizing it was at this proximity, but she forced herself to ignore it. They stayed this way for what seemed like an eternity until the boy finally seemed to run out of energy and began to quiet.

Seras pulled away from the embrace. "Brandon we need to get you out of here."

His eyes were red and puffy when he looked up at her and Seras felt her heart break. "And go where?" he asked.

Seras though for a moment and responded, "For now we need to get you to the hospital and get those wounds looked at. After that we'll see about contacting your family. What about your father?"

Brandon shook his head sadly, eyes cast towards the ground. "He died when I was little," he said, and Seras could see the tears threatening to spill over again.

Seras bit her lip. She hoped someone would be able to find the boy's next of kin. She knew what kind of life awaited him if he had no one to take him in. She sighed.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she got to her feet, "But everything's going to be okay. We need to get you somewhere safe. Will you come with me?"

Seras stretched out a hand for Brandon to take but he eyed her warily. After a few moments of presumably weighing his options he finally slipped his small hand into hers.

"Okay, now hang on," she said, lifting the boy into her right arm as she formed the shadows around her into wings. She stepped back out into the front of the house, careful to keep the boy from seeing the gruesome scene of his mother's demise. As she stepped back out into the night she leapt into the air and they were off.

As Brandon clung to her, Seras felt as though she'd been a complete fool. How had she ever thought there was any other option for her but Hellsing? Long ago she'd made a vow that she would devote herself to preventing the types of horrors she'd experienced in her own life from afflicting anyone else. Yet here was a young boy who had suffered in almost the exact same way. It was the very type of suffering Seras wanted to put an end to.

Maybe Hellsing was in shambles and it would take a lot of work to restore it to its former state, but Seras was going to do all she could to help. After all, with her Master gone Hellsing was going to need a new pet vampire.

This was her purpose, to fight the vampires and ghouls and save as many people from these horrors as she could. She hadn't been able to accomplish much when she was alive, but she possessed power now. She was stronger than the other monsters.

She would make them sorry they'd ever dared to go bump in the night.

She was Seras Victoria of Hellsing.


	2. Scene 2

Thanks very much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Your feedback is appreciated and I'm glad to know people are enjoying the story thus far. This chapter is a bit on the short side and not too eventful, but I wanted to show Integra's take on the situation before continuing on with the story. The next chapter should be a bit more fun, but for now I hope you enjoy this one.

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How had it come to this?

Integra Hellsing pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Her mind was still cloudy from the drugs she'd been given during her surgery and she could feel a dull ache building in the socket where her left eye had been. Her blood-stained suit had been removed and she was draped only in a thin, white hospital gown. This was not where the leader of Hellsing had expected to end up.

In truth she wasn't even entirely sure _how_ she'd ended up here. She and Seras had managed to defeat the Major, that twisted little toad of a man or machine or whatever the devil he was, but Integra had lost consciousness soon afterwards. She suspected a combination of blood loss and rapidly waning adrenaline were to blame. When she'd regained consciousness she'd found herself in the hospital, down one eye and two vampires.

She cursed under her breath, wishing for all the world she could light a cigar right now. Where had that bastard Alucard gone? How dare he disappear and leave her without her permission? Integra had been under the impression that her vampire was indestructible. In her insane, bloody and unpredictable life he'd been the one constant she'd been sure she'd always be able to rely on. How dare he leave her on her own after all this time?

If he ever came back she'd end his unlife.

As for Seras, Integra wasn't entirely sure where the girl had gone off too. She gathered that it had been Seras who'd brought her to the hospital in the first place. This deduction came both from the way the staff members had paled considerably when Integra had asked who'd brought her in and the fact that the hospital she currently found herself in was over 80 kilometers outside of London. However Seras had been gone by the time Integra had awakened and there had been no sign of the girl since.

Integra supposed it was to be expected. Seras belonged to Alucard, not to Hellsing, and she had only been obligated to Integra through her ties to her master. It was likely that Seras had taken off on her own now, which was a problem in and of itself. Seras had changed quite considerably over the course of the past few days. She had come into a power that Integra had only ever seen rivaled by Alucard himself. Without some type of bonds to keep her in check, the girl could become a very formidable problem indeed.

Integra supposed that wasn't really her concern anymore.

The Hellsing Organization lay in ruins. It seemed Integra was all that remained of the noble institution. The mansion that served as their headquarters had been utterly destroyed, all of the personnel killed and, even had that not been the case, she knew that there was very little Hellsing could accomplish with Alucard out of the picture. She had grown very reliant on the vampire's power in her tenure as head of the family. She didn't know how to fight without him.

Sir Penwood was dead as well, and the man had been a considerable asset despite his cowardly demeanor. And then of course there was Walter, whom Integra had relied on as a trusted friend and ally. He had practically raised her after the death of her father and had been her closest confidant and advisor. Yet he had betrayed her and then he had perished. Every support system she'd learned to lean on had been pulled out from under her. Integra considered herself a strong woman, but she was one person and without any sort of force behind her there was very little she would be able to accomplish.

Integra sighed. An entire life's worth of effort had gone up in a puff of smoke before her remaining eye. It seemed Hellsing would no longer head the fight against vampires in England. She wondered what the long-term repercussions of her organization's downfall would be. Would there be someone else to rise up and protect humanity from the vampire threats?

Integra removed her glasses and began cleaning the right lens, deep in thought. She truly had no idea where to go from here. She'd been bred to run Hellsing from almost the day she was born. She had no other purpose in this world.

As she switched her attentions to the other lens, Integra became aware of a panicked shouting coming from somewhere down the hallway. She replaced her glasses, inclining her head towards the doorway, but whatever was happening was too far out of her range of hearing. She supposed in a hospital there might be cause for such behavior, and so she sat in place for a moment, listening.

Soon the shouting died down. Many of the voices seemed to be getting farther away, yet the sound of approaching footsteps set Integra on her guard. The intruder appeared in the doorway a moment later and turned to face Integra. It was Seras Victoria.

Integra was surprised to see the girl, but years of practiced control over her facial expressions allowed her to hide that fact. Seras truly was a sight to see. In the heat of battle Integra had been more concerned with the girl as a means to an end and had not really paid her much mind. Yet now that Seras was here, standing before her in the quiet sterility of the hospital corridor, Integra could clearly see the magnitude of the changes the girl had undergone.

Seras had always been somewhat of an anomaly in Integra's opinion. Most vampires, especially those that had just been turned, gave themselves to their bloodlust almost immediately. Sure, many of them retained aspects of their personalities and there were glimpses of people they had been before, but they became killers above all else. Their primary concern was to sate their own thirst.

That had never been the case with Seras. From the beginning the girl had been appalled with the idea of drinking human blood and she didn't seem to revel in violence as she was expected to either. Sure, there were moments in the heat of battle when her bloodlust would emerge, but those were the exceptions and not the rule. Seras Victoria had been the most human vampire Integra Hellsing had come across in all her years as an expert in the field.

That didn't appear to be the case anymore.

The Seras Victoria before her now was not only a true vampire, but a rather formidable looking one at that. She still wore her Hellsing uniform, though a large percentage of it was covered in dried blood. She had somehow lost her left arm along the way and it had been replaced by a dark trail of shadows that flowed outwards from her shoulder. Her expression was calm and collected now, no trace of the nervous fidgeting the girl had formerly exhibited when in Integra's presence. It appeared a little bit of blood had gone a long way.

Seras stepped into the room and Integra eyed her curiously. She was quite unsure of the girl's intentions. Integra doubted Seras wished her harm, or she wouldn't have bothered with the effort of bringing her to the hospital in the first place, but she couldn't imagine what other business the vampire had here.

Integra was surprised yet again when Sera stopped in front of her hospital bed and went down on one knee.

"Sir Integra, I still wish to serve the Hellsing Organization. I am your servant. Please use me however you wish," she said. Her voice echoed eerily in the stillness of the hospital room but Integra hardly noticed.

Integra was taken aback by the vampire's request. This time her shock showed briefly on her face but Integra quickly recovered. A characteristic smirk crossed her lips. Perhaps Seras Victoria had not changed all that much after all.

If that was the case, then there was a chance Hellsing didn't have to die after all. She might not be Alucard, but Seras might just be enough force to put some power back behind the organization.

"Well then, Officer Victoria" Integra said, "It seems we have a lot of work to do."

Seras raised her head to face Integra, wearing a smile that revealed her fangs.

"Yes, my Master"


	3. Scene 3

So thanks again to everyone who's read and reviewed this story so far. I really do appreciate the kind words. This chapter's a bit on the sillier side but I had a lot of fun writing it. Some of these chapters have slightly different tones since I originally wrote some of them to be separate before deciding to connect them into one story, but hopefully it won't be too jarring.

One other note. I'm American but I felt like I should be using British measurements (aka the measurements pretty much everyone else uses) instead of American ones since the story takes place in England. That said, let me know if anything sounds weird or out of place. It's just basic changes like using centimeters instead of inches but it still feels a bit odd to me. Anyway that's all for now. Thanks again for reading!

* * *

He'd been a member of Hellsing for a week already and Colin Daniels still couldn't quite manage his way around the bloody mansion. Confused, he stopped at the end of the hall and peered around the corner, unsure of whether to turn left or right. He could swear these hallways shifted around a bit when no one was looking. There was really no other explanation for the difficultly he was having merely trying to find his way out of the building.

As he stood pondering, Colin felt a hand on his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"You lost Daniels?" came a voice. It was a friendly enough question, though there was a hint of laughter in the statement.

Colin clutched his heart for a moment, trying not to show how startled he'd been. It wouldn't do for a future vampire hunter to be so jumpy.

Regaining his composer, he turned around to face Officer Laura Conway, one of the other new recruits in his unit. He was at least relieved it was one of his comrades and not a superior officer who'd fond him so hopelessly lost.

"Uh, it would appear so," he replied, embarrassed. He'd always been hopeless with directions, but if he was late to training he doubted the excuse that he'd been unable to find his way out of the building would be well received.

"You're heading to the yard right? Come on then, I'll show you the way," she said. With that she brushed past him and turned down the hall to their left.

Colin sighed and followed after her. Conway was one of the more adept of the twenty new recruits in his unit. She'd had training at a proper military academy and served in the British army for four years before joining up with Hellsing. Colin didn't have nearly as much combat experience himself, though he did have similar training.

Everyone who signed on with Hellsing was expected to have some degree of military training right off the bat. The organization had fairly selective criteria for its members. In the past it hadn't even been possible to apply for a job with the Hellsing Organization. Not many had even known it existed. For most of the organization's history it had been a covert operation, and keeping the existence of vampires and monsters under wraps had been one of its primary objectives. However the Battle of London had changed all of that. Now that the world knew about the existence of such creatures there was no reason for Hellsing to hide its true purpose.

The people who signed up to work with Hellsing these days were often those who had lost friends or family to the vampire massacre in London two years ago, or who had simply witnessed the destruction and wanted to prevent anything of that magnitude from happening again. Colin was in the former category. He had lost two grandparents and a cousin to the tragedy and, after completing his basic training with the military, had joined up with Hellsing in order to honor their memory.

The first week with the organization had been a period of evaluation. There had been a number of physical exams as well as numerous aptitude tests involving weapons and combat skills. Of the hundred candidates that had applied for a position within the organization, Colin had been among the twenty selected. Now he was about to find out exactly what he'd gotten himself into.

It was common knowledge that Hellsing kept a real live vampire among its ranks. Not many seemed to know exact details about the creature, but they knew it was sent out along with the human troops on the more high-risk missions. Only those who had been in the organization long enough to have been sent on one of those missions seemed to know what the creature looked like. That was not many people either, considering the organization had been rebuilding since the war and had only begun actual operations a few months ago. Those senior members had taken to hazing the new recruits with stories of the terrifying Hellsing vampire in order to make them squirm. Yet Colin couldn't quite tell how much was true and how much was embellished, as the senior officers could never seem to keep a straight face during the stories.

Well, he'd find out for himself soon enough. Tonight was the first night of real training, and Colin had heard it was the vampire who would be heading up the sessions.

Colin followed Conway down a few more hallways until he finally found himself at the door that led out into the training yard. Breathing an internal sigh of relief, he followed Conway out of the mansion and into the night.

He supposed training in the darkness made complete sense considering Hellsing's mission, but Colin was already certain he would never get used to it. The moon was high in the sky as they made their was across the yard, casting an eerie glow over the small number of troops that had already gathered. Colin was relieved to see that he did not appear to be late for training.

Colin and Conway joined the ranks of the other recruits and Colin took a look around. He recognized a number of the faces but there were some he had never seen before. This was the first time all of the recruits had been gathered in one place. The exams the week before had been primarily conducted on an individual basis. As he stood amongst his fellow soldiers, Colin began looking around for any sign of the vampire.

He must have seemed a bit on the jittery side, because after a few moments a voice beside him said, "You seem a bit nervous."

Colin nearly jumped at the sudden interruption but caught himself just in time. He turned, expecting to see Conway poking fun at him, but instead it was another woman he didn't recognize. She was on the short side, with blond hair and bright blue eyes. She looked rather young as well, younger than most of the other recruits. She was so young in fact that Colin found himself wondering how on earth she'd qualified to join up with Hellsing at her age. Despite this, she seemed perfectly at ease while most of the other recruits around her were fidgeting nervously.

"O-oh do I?" Colin responded, rubbing the back of his neck, "I suppose so." He paused for a moment, not sure if he should voice his true concerns. After thinking it over, he decided it couldn't hurt and said in a hushed voice, "I heard there would be a vampire conducting this training session."

For a moment the girl seemed taken aback but then she began to chuckle. Colin wondered if she was laughing at his cowardice. He was grateful that it was dark and she likely couldn't see his cheeks flush.

"Oh yeah," she responded, her tone flippant, "I've actually seen the vampire before you know"

Colin perked up a bit at this, his interest piqued. He could tell a couple of the other recruits around them had also leaned in to see what she had to say.

"Oh have you?" he asked, trying to sound casually interested, though he was sure his efforts were fairly transparent.

"Oh yeah," she responded, turning to include some of the other bystanders in the conversation. "It's huge! Nearly seven feet tall, with two rows of fangs and these glowing red eyes," she said, holding her index fingers in front of her teeth in an approximation of elongated canine teeth, "Oh! And one of its arms was made completely out of these dark, creepy shadows," she finished, wiggling her fingers a bit and adding an inflection to her voice that suggested she was telling a story at a campfire. Colin raised an eyebrow.

Some of the other troops seemed not to buy the story either and one of them piped up, "Oi, that sounds like a load of bull. No way you've seen the vampire. I think you're messing with us."

At that the blond woman let out a laugh. "Well, I suppose you've got me there. But you know, first day and all, couldn't resist having a bit of fun."

With that she smiled and began to walk away from the group. When she was about ten or so paces out, she turned back to face them. She was standing up straight now and her face was serious. "Right then," she said, "My name is Seras Victoria. Welcome to you first night of training."

Colin blinked. The other troops around him seemed a bit confused as well. Not only was this girl younger than the rest of them, but she was their commanding officer as well?

"So…is there not going to be a vampire leading us then?" came a voice from somewhere at the back of the group.

At this Seras seemed to deflate considerable. Eye twitching slightly, she responded, "I _am_ the vampire."

There was a moment of complete silence before some amount of sniggering began to build. Colin suspected they all would have burst out laughing if this girl hadn't appeared to be their superior.

Seras, for her part, didn't seem fazed by the reaction. She stood calmly with her hands folded behind her back and said, "Well then, someone shoot me."

The troops stopped their sniggering abruptly and turned to look at each other. No one could quite tell if she was serious.

"Come on then," she said impatiently, "you've all got your weapons with you. Let's have it."

Still no one moved.

Seras sighed. "All right then," she said, eyes sweeping over the troops until she fell on one of the men towards the middle. She pointed her finger towards him and everyone in his vicinity took a step away, "You. Philips was it? Let's go, take a shot."

Philips looked around at the others but everyone seemed to be pointedly avoiding his gaze. At a loss, he turned back to Seras and slowly began removing his gun from his holster.

Seras rolled her eyes. "All right, enough of this. Fire the gun already."

Without further argument, Philips brought the gun up, hesitated only for a moment, and then fired a shot directly at where Seras was standing.

In the blink of an eye she reappeared about a meter to the left as the bullet whizzed past her. There were a few surprised gasps from amongst the recruits.

Seras seemed rather pleased with herself.

There were a few more moments of stunned silence before someone called out, "Wait a minute, so you're telling us you're actually a vampire?"

Before anyone could react, Seras was standing in front of the man who'd spoken, her face mere centimeters from his.

"See," she said, "I could have had your head off in the time it took you to ask a stupid question."

That seemed to put an end to any other doubts that had been floating about.

"Okay then, this has been your first lesson," Seras said, returning to her place at the front of the group, "Looks can be deceiving. Vampires will not always look like monsters. Some of them will look like ordinary humans, even women and children. Do not lower your guard for anyone when you are on a mission, is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am," came the chorus of replies. It was clear Seras had already earned a measurable amount of respect.

"Alright then, let's try some one-on-one then shall we? Any volunteers?" she asked. Predictably she was met with complete silence.

Unfazed, she continued, "All right then, how about you Daniels?" Colin felt his stomach sink down towards his feet as he realized Seras was pointing directly at him. With no other choice, he made his way slowly towards where she was standing. He could feel everyone's eyes on the back of his neck.

As he moved to stand before her, Seras said, "Okay then, go ahead and take your best shot."

Colin blinked at her. He knew she'd just told them not to underestimate their opponents but he still couldn't get over the fact that it felt like he was about to attack an unarmed girl.

"If you're waiting for an invitation I've already given you one," she said, smirking, "Come on, let's see what you've got."

Colin couldn't bring himself to pull out his gun, so instead he elected to take a rather feeble swing at her head with his right arm.

Before he even knew what was happening, Seras grabbed hold of his arm and flipped him onto his back. He was still winded when she jumped onto his chest, pinning both of his arms above his head. She opened her mouth and he could see that her teeth had been replaced by a row of impossibly sharp fangs. She began to lower her face towards his neck and Colin couldn't help but let out an embarrassingly pathetic yelp as he struggled uselessly against her grip. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Then, a moment later, her weight disappeared from his chest as she rolled to the side and stood up. As he opened his eyes he looked up to find Seras offering her hand. He took it, dazed, and stumbled a bit as she pulled him to his feet.

"Sorry to frighten you like that," she said, before turning and directing her attention to the rest of the group, "But I think it's best you learn what you're dealing with here instead of out in the field."

Colin was still mortified at the way he'd responded to the situation. Years of combat training and Seras had turned him completely useless in a matter of seconds. He supposed there was a silver lining in the fact that at least he hadn't wet himself in front of the other recruits

"Right then," Seras said, her tone bright and perky even as most of the recruits stared at her in open-mouthed horror, "Who's next?"

Colin slowly made his way back among the ranks as Seras called her next victim. It was going to be a long night.


	4. Scene 4

So here we go again. We're back to Seras with this one. It takes place roughly around the same time as the last oneshot, roughly within a few weeks. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed the story so far. As always it is very much appreciated. Hope you enjoy the chapter. It's a bit on the cheesy side this time around, but I kind of like that sort of thing.

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The sun was just beginning to set over the Hellsing mansion, which meant a groggy Seras Victoria had just emerged from her coffin in the basement. She stretched luxuriously and sat upright, glancing around her chambers. A small desk sat against the far wall and a dresser with a few picture frames atop it was to her right. Her collection of weapons, including her Harkonnen, rested against the wall next to her. Other than that and a mirror hanging by the doorway, the room was bare. She didn't find herself in need of many possessions these days.

With another quick stretch Seras climbed out of the coffin and stood. There were no windows or lights in her chambers but she moved unhindered as she made her way across the room to the mirror. She stood in front of it for a moment as she took in her reflection, grateful as always that she still had one. That was another bit of vampire lore that had proved to be utter nonsense.

Seras had reverted to her more natural form while sleeping and so that was the sight that greeted her as she gazed into the mirror. Shadows trailed from her shoulder, almost invisible in the already dark room. Her eyes glowed back at her, an eerie shade of red. She knew that this appearance was considered frightening by most, and that she would likely be seen as a threat should she choose to wear it among the other Hellsing troops. To that end, she had chosen to adopt her former, more human appearance when out among the living.

There was also a concern with letting the other soldiers see exactly what she was capable of. Seras knew that she was quite possibly unstoppable. Alucard was gone and even the other vampire hunting organizations, like Iscariot, still lay in ruins from the war. Seras had no intentions of hurting anyone, but there was really no way to convince others of that. It was really best for everyone if the Hellsing soldiers thought they could take her down if necessary.

Even during all of the missions she had been on with the human soldiers so far, Seras had managed to keep her true power a secret. On the rare occasion she needed to release the full extent of her abilities to take down a foe she was usually able to do so away from prying eyes, either by rushing on ahead or hiding herself in the shadows.

So, as she did each evening when she woke, Seras concentrated on shifting her form. Slowly the shadows receded, molding themselves until they took the shape of a human arm. It fell naturally into place on Seras's left shoulder and she flexed her fingers, feeling the barely concealed power beneath them. With a blink her eyes had returned to their former baby blue. She stared back at her reflection.

In truth, Seras hoped that some day hiding her true vampiric form would no longer be a necessity. After all, it was the form Pip had given his life to help her attain.

Seras smiled sadly at the thought of Captain Bernadotte. Sure, she felt his presence with her even now, a constant comfort she could seek out within herself whenever she had need of it, but it wasn't the same. When she thought back on her early days at Hellsing, Seras couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of longing for times past.

The Wild Geese had never been afraid of her. The men had treated her almost like a little sister. They had teased her, joked with her, and even made the occasional pass at her just to see who could make the vampire blush first. And of course there had been the Captain himself. She hadn't been overly fond of him at first, but in time their relationship had developed into one unlike any Seras had experienced before. He had been the first man to view her as a woman, in her life or in death. To this day, she couldn't keep herself form wishing that their story could have ended differently.

It wasn't only Pip and the Geese that Seras missed either. She'd had her Master back then as well, another vampire who'd understood her and whom she could turn to with her questions and uncertainties. There had been Walter as well, the kindly butler who had been almost a sort of grandfatherly figure to her until he had shown the true colors of his treachery.

Seras had lost so many connections since then. Sure, she still had Sir Integra. Her boss had been surprisingly comforting ever since they had worked to rebuild the organization together. Seras supposed Integra was in much that same boat as she was. After all, the head of Hellsing had suffered equal or great losses to Seras' during the war. Integra would often check in to make sure Seras was comfortable and had everything she needed, and some evenings when vampire activity was slow Integra would even call Seras to her office simply to chat. Yes, Integra's company had been absolutely vital over the past two years, but her companionship alone simply wasn't enough.

Seras knew it was different with the troops now than it had been with the Wild Geese. Back when she'd worked with the Geese the existence of vampires had still been under wraps. They'd barely believed Seras was a vampire in the first place, and they'd had no idea what she was truly capable of. They'd had no reason to fear her. These days, with vampire presence common knowledge and the destruction of London still fresh in everyone's minds, fear and hatred towards vampires was at an all time high.

True, none of the troops treated Seras unkindly, at least not to her face. In training she commanded an amount of respect she would never have thought possible from a group of highly trained soldiers. Yet she could see what was lurking just behind their eyes. She picked it up in their thoughts without meaning to. They didn't trust her. Some of them even feared her.

She was constantly held at an arm's length. The only interactions she had with her fellow Hellsing members were the training sessions she ran and the occasional mission she was sent on with them. These were always conducted in a wholly professional manner, with Seras as the central authority rather than an equal, and when they were through she would watch as the others went off, talking and laughing and enjoying their humanity. It was in those moments that Seras realized how profoundly lonely she really was.

Pleased that she had at least disguised herself appropriately, Seras turned and left her chambers, making her way up the heavy set of stone steps that led down into the basement. Her quarters were in the same wing of the mansion where most of the troops were housed. It was perhaps a bit unorthodox for Sir Integra to have all of her troops living in what was essentially a private residence, but then Seras supposed Hellsing had never exactly been traditional, and the mansion did serve as the organization's base of operations. In any case it certainly paid to have everyone close at hand for emergencies. Those who signed on with Hellsing were not the type to have outside interests. Hellsing was their home, their job and their life's purpose. Seras could attest to that.

Continuing on her way, she ascended the last of the steps and came out on the main floor. The sun had fully set now and this floor of the mansion was deserted. It was the soldiers' night off from training, so they were all likely up in their quarters on the second floor. Seras found herself actually wishing for a mission to come up. That would be far preferable to another night spent wandering the mansion on her own. Perhaps she would pop in on Sir Integra later if the night proved uneventful.

For the moment though Seras headed towards the kitchen. She had her own fridge that was well stocked with a supply of medical blood. She knew the sight of it tended to put the other recruits off, so Seras usually tried to take her meals when there was no one else about. She had given up on denying herself blood long ago. She still refused to drink it from the source, but she allowed herself the blood packets. A malnourished vampire was no use to anyone, after all.

Seras had just reached her destination and removed a fresh packet of blood from the fridge when a new sound reached her ears, barely perceptible even in the otherwise silent halls of the mansion. She paused and listened, her superior hearing picking up the disturbance with ease.

For a moment Seras wondered if she should just leave it alone. This was none of her business and it was likely unwise for her to get involved. Still, starved as she was for some sort of social interaction she simply couldn't help herself. It couldn't hurt for her just to take a look after all. If it was nothing she would leave the situation alone.

That decided, Seras melted into the shadows. There were few things simpler for a vampire then remaining discrete in the darkness. She made her way down the hall, following the noise to its point of origin.

She stopped at the entrance to a small study at the end of the hall. Seras was quite certain she'd never even noticed the room before. There were so many redundant studies and parlors in the mansion she doubted even Sir Integra had explored them all.

She peered around the threshold, still hidden in shadow. Inside was a single woman, roughly in her mid to late 20s by Seras' guess. She had curled herself into a small ball in one of the armchairs in the corner and was sobbing quietly.

For the second time Seras debated turning back and leaving this situation alone. Yet she found she was still unable to stop herself. She made herself visible as she stepped over the threshold, allowing her footsteps to be heard in order to alert the woman to her presence.

The other woman's head shot up at once. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was likely she hadn't expected anyone to find her here in this remote corner of a dark hallway. A moment later, when she realized exactly who it was standing in the doorway, her panic increased. Seras could hear the woman's heart beating as though it were about to burst through her chest.

"O-Officer Victoria," she stammered, almost falling over herself in an attempt to stand at attention.

Now that the woman's face was in plain view Seras recognized her as one of the members of the newest batch of recruits. Seras had made a point to learn all of the recruits' names before their training had bergun, and so she knew this woman's name was Alison Wright.

"O-oh, no need for that," Seras said, waving her arms in front of her to dismiss the gesture. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I just have very good hearing and well…" she trailed off but the other woman seemed to catch Seras' meaning as she hastily began to wipe the tears from her eyes. Seras knew she was intruding, but at the same time she wondered what had caused this woman to seek refuge in a dark study on her night off.

Seras noticed the woman was staring nervously at something. Following her gaze, Seras realized it was on the packet of medical blood she still had clutched in her right hand. Feeling awkward, she quickly hid the offending object behind her back and said, "So uh…everything all right?"

The woman, Alison, didn't seem to know how to respond. Seras could tell she was afraid. Though Seras was not yet quite proficient at reading minds, a skill her Master had not deigned to teach her before he'd gone and disappeared, she often picked up bits of emotion or stray thoughts, and right now the fear coming off of the woman across from her was almost palpable. This woman didn't trust Seras and she didn't want to be alone in a dark room with a vampire.

To her credit though, Alison hid it well. Seras could see her eyes darting towards the doorway, but Alison kept her voice calm and steady as she replied, "Yes I'm fine. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

Seras was not giving up that easily. "So, do you normally find yourself alone in dark studies at the back of the mansion then?" she asked. She'd meant it to be a friendly jest but clearly it came off as slightly predatory because she could hear the woman's heart rate skyrocket once more. A thought that was not her own drifted through Seras' mind.

 _No one will be able to hear me scream from here._

Seras flinched internally. Even when she was trying her damnedest to seem nonthreatening, they all still viewed her in the same light as the vampires that Hellsing hunted. Unable to control herself any longer, Seras said, "Oh come _on_. I'm not going to hurt you! Why do you think I'm walking around with medical blood in a baggy?" To emphasize her point she brought the packet of blood out from behind her back and tossed it onto a nearby armchair.

The woman across from her seemed to have no clue how to react to this outburst. Alison didn't know that Seras had accidentally read her mind so the vampire's sudden irritation probably made her seem a bit unhinged.

Seras didn't wait for a response before she continued speaking. She couldn't stop herself. She had a lot of pent up feelings and a captive audience. The woman across the room continued to stare at her, aghast.

"I mean, what have I ever done to any of you?" Seras asked, "I've only ever tried to help and you just look at me like I'm some kind of monster." She paused for a moment before adding, "Well I suppose I am a monster, but I'd never hurt anyone!"

Alison still seemed completely at a loss for how to respond to Seras. She now seemed more nervous that Seras would continue to rant at her than she was that the vampire would attack.

"I- I-," Alison stuttered for a moment. She seemed to be trying to think up an appropriate response. Finally she said, "I've just received word that my cousin died."

Seras deflated instantly. She already regretted her outburst. She'd come in here to see if she could help and she'd managed to frighten Alison half to death and then yell at her. She was doing a bang up job so far.

"Oh! I'm so sorry to hear that," Seras said awkwardly. She hoped if perhaps she pretended her little tirade hadn't happened they could just move past it. "Are you okay?"

Alison looked at Seras for a moment as though trying to decide if she really wanted to have this conversation. After a few seconds she seemed to concede, "It wasn't even vampires or anything like that, you know. He was killed in an automobile accident," she said. Her voice was beginning to waver, "I just keep thinking, what use is it for me to be working at Hellsing, trying to fight monsters and vampires, if I can't keep the people I care about from dying. It all just feels so useless."

"Hellsing is _not_ useless," Seras said, almost startling herself with how adamant she sounded. She could tell Alison was a bit surprised too. Seras backtracked slightly, "Um, what I man is you'll never be able to save everyone. I'm very sorry to hear about what happened to your cousin, but Hellsing has kept so many people from being killed. Just because we can't stop all the bad things in the world from happening doesn't mean that what this organization does isn't extremely important."

Seras realized how passionately she felt the words even as she was speaking them. She had always believed in Hellsing and its mission, she had just never spoken the feelings aloud before.

Alison was looking at Seras with a strange look on her face. After a moment she said, "Why do you work for Hellsing, Miss Victoria?"

Seras was momentarily caught off guard. She'd never been asked such a question before. She'd been Hellsing's pet vampire for two years now. It came as naturally to her as not breathing.

"The same reasons as you I expect," she responded, "I want to protect people."

Alison was still looking Seras in mild confusion. She seemed to be deciding whether to push this line of questioning further. After a beat she said, "No I just meant…well you're a vampire aren't you? Why do you want to help humans? All of the other vampires just kill and destroy and suck blood. I don't understand why you're here."

Alison seemed very nervous about the fact that she'd just said such things, but Seras appreciated her honesty. She'd already known that this was what a lot of the recruits thought of her. She supposed it was suspicious. Seras herself had never met another vampire who valued human life the way she did. Even her Master, who had worked with Hellsing years before she had, had not cared the least bit for individual human lives. She had no real answer to give.

"I can't really say," Seras replied, "My parents were killed when I was very young. I was a police officer before I…died. My whole life I just wanted to protect people. I suppose that didn't really change when I became what I am now."

There was a brief period of silence. Alison still seemed a bit confused but all traces of fear seemed to have left her. "Oh, I'm sorry about you parents," she said.

Seras shook her head. "That was a long time ago," she said, "but thank you."

Alison still seemed to have questions. Her cheeks were still damp with tears but she seemed to have forgotten her distress in the face of the unexpected conversation she was having.

"So…how long have you been…?" she trailed off but Seras caught her meaning.

"Oh um, just a bit over two years now," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. She often played up the fact that she was a vampire at training to try to make the troops more comfortable with it, but now that Alison was asking these sorts of questions Seras felt a bit like she was on display.

Alison seemed surprised by that answer, "Really? So…you're actually younger than me?"

"I suppose so," Seras replied, "I'm just about 22."

This was clearly a surprise. "22?" Alison said, her disbelief evident, "For some reason everyone seems to think you're a lot older than that. I would never have guessed that you're five years younger than I am."

"Oh, well I suppose it is hard to tell with vampires," Seras responded, still slightly uncomfortable.

Silence hung in the air between them for a moment, each apparently at a loss for what to say.

"Well, I supposed it is a bit sad to be sitting alone in a dark room on my night off," Alison said finally. "I haven't had supper and I suppose you um…" she paused for a moment, eyeing the bag of blood that was still sitting on an arm chair across the room, "you haven't eaten yet either. I don't suppose you'd like to join me?"

Seras could tell Alison was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. Nonethless she saw the other woman's words, as well as the implication that she didn't mind if Seras drank blood in front of her, for what they were – a gesture of good faith.

Seras smiled. "I'd love to."


	5. Scene 5

Hey everyone, welcome back. So this chapter was actually the first one I wrote when I started these oneshots. It was supposed to be a stand alone story originally so I went back and did a bunch of tweaking to make it fit into the larger story. Hopefully it feels like it flows nicely from the chapters before it now. I also have to mention that I've only been to London twice, so I've only actually take the tube a handful of times. Hopefully there aren't any glaring mistakes in the way I've written this chapter. I'm from New York, so I was more picturing the New York subway system as I wrote, but I tried to keep the picture as generic as possible to avoid any glaring mistakes.

Thank you as always to anyone reading and following this story and especially to those who have taken the time to review. I love receiving your feedback and it is always appreciated. Enjoy!

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Officer Conway moved swiftly and silently through the underground labyrinth, her night vision goggles allowing her the benefit of sight in the dark tunnels. She cursed herself for allowing the ghouls to separate her from the rest of her team. Hellsing had dispersed a group of 5 operatives to take care of a vampire who had taken up residence in ruins of the London Underground. People who were involved in the rebuilding of the city had begun vanishing and Hellsing had managed to trace the disappearances back to the abandoned Tube stations. They had thought it would be a fairly routine operation, but Hellsing had grossly underestimated its target.

The number of ghouls that had met their approach had been far greater than anticipated. Conway's team was overwhelmed almost immediately and in the chaos she'd been separated from the rest of the group. She wasn't even sure the rest of her teammates were still alive. She'd managed to take out most of the ghouls blocking her path and escape further into the vampire's lair, but she was alone and dangerously low on ammo.

Conway stopped short as she heard the sound of crackling from her radio. She glanced around quickly to make sure the unexpected noise had not given away her position and then she pulled the device from its place on her belt.

"Come in Conway," was all she could make out through the crackling static. She recognized the voice of their team leader, Officer Coster.

"Conway here," she responded, filled with relief that at least some of her teammates had made it.

"What is your location?" he asked, wasting no time.

Conway looked around but could see nothing that would help to detail her location. Pressing the button on the transceiver, she responded, "I'm not sure. The ghouls pushed me pretty far from where we came in. I've managed to escape for the moment but I'm dangerously low on ammo. Is everyone else alright?"

There was a pause before Coster's voice came again, "We'll all be okay. Farley and Prince are fine and Jackson's been wounded but should be okay. The rest of us have already left the lair."

Conway's stomach sank. Had they abandoned her? Before she could comment Coster continued, "We severely underestimated our opponent. We've already contacted Hellsing. They're going to send in Seras Victoria. You just need to hold tight until she arrives and she'll come in after you."

Conway gripped the transceiver tighter and tried to remain calm. She knew of Seras Victoria of course. She was Hellsing's resident vampire and the only one of their kind that fought alongside the humans. Victoria ran the new recruits' training sessions in order to prepare them to fight against a vampire in the field, but she didn't seem particularly powerful. What could a single vampire hope to accomplish against the nest of ghouls they'd stumbled upon?

Yet there was no use arguing. Conway had known the risks of this job when she'd signed on for it. She'd seen what vampires and ghouls had done to London and she'd wanted to play a part in making sure nothing like that horrible tragedy ever occurred again. She'd messed up this time and now she'd have to pay the price. She couldn't ask her teammates to come back in after her, especially not if one of them had already been wounded.

With a deep breath Conway grasped the transceiver and said, "Roger that, captain."

There was another moment and the captain's voice crackled over the speaker again, "Just keep your head down until Officer Victoria arrives. We'll see you soon."

With that the radio went silent. Conway stored it back in her belt and assessed her surroundings again. The tunnel she'd paused in was as dim and grimy as the others she'd passed through on her way here. From somewhere in the distance she could hear the shuffling and moaning of approaching ghouls. She cursed softly under her breath. Apparently her conversation with Coster had given away her location after all.

Wasting no time she turned in the opposite directly and began running at a swift pace, holding her gun low as she ran along the tracks. She had three shots left in her pistol and wasn't keen on wasting them.

The thought came unbidden to her mind that she might well die here. It was only her third mission. She'd joined up with Hellsing five months ago, only a year after the disaster that had devastated London. She'd been a member of the British Army for four years, but when she'd learned about vampires and seen the devastation they were capable of she'd changed her course and joined up with Hellsing.

Now she was in over her head and her only hope was the Hellsing organization's pet vampire. Conway had nothing against Seras Victoria. The girl was actually very sweet and had Conway not seen Victoria's strength and speed for herself she wouldn't have believed the girl was a vampire at all. Seras didn't drink the blood of humans, instead subsisting off of medical blood packs, and she quite honestly didn't seem capable of hurting a fly.

How was a vampire like that supposed to face down this many ghouls on her own?

Conway remembered when she'd first heard there was a vampire working for Hellsing. She'd pictured a fearsome monster, lurking in the shadows and striking fear into the hearts of the organization's other members. Instead she'd been introduced to Seras Victoria, who looked no older than 20 and joked with the new recruits as though she were an older sister.

She knew Seras had some level of vampiric power. She carried a gun that was far too large for any mortal to wield and she was fast enough to dodge the new recruits' bullets during field training. She might be enough to scare Hellsing newbies who had never seen a vampire before, but Conway doubted Seras could strike fear into the hearts of her own kind.

Conway was pulled from her thoughts as she reached the end of the tunnel and found herself looking at a fork in the tracks. The fact that the Underground had been so extensive had proven to be a problem as well. Conway had not even the slightest inkling where the vampire who was controlling all of the ghouls could be hiding.

The shuffling of the approaching ghouls behind her was becoming louder so Conway took a breath and charged down the tracks to the left. She had only run a few meters when she realized with a sinking feeling that she'd chosen a dead end. The tracks had been completely blocked off by a huge wall of rubble from when the streets above had collapsed during the bombings. She was trapped.

Before she could get her bearings, Conway realized the ghouls had already rounded the corner. They came shambling at her with a sort of relentless momentum. Trying to remain calm, she raised her pistol and fired a shot at the ghoul nearest to her. Its head exploded from the impact and it dropped to the ground, lifeless, as three of its fellow ghouls simply stepped around the fallen corpse.

Two shots left. Conway swallowed hard and took a step backwards. She nearly stumbled as the heel of her boot caught an uneven stone but she caught her balance. She fired again, taking out another of the ghouls, but there were dozens of them shambling towards her now. Conway could feel her hands beginning to shake. The ghouls would rip her apart if they reached her. She knew what fate lay in store if they got their hands on her.

Conway looked down at her pistol. She was shaking uncontrollably now. She had one shot left. Not enough for the ghouls but enough to ensure her a peaceful end. She hesitated. The ghouls were almost upon her now. She had very little time left to make the decision. Slowly, she began to raise the pistol to her temple.

A sudden sound split the air. Conway was so startled that she dropped her gun. With a clang it fell to the ground near her feet. The next several seconds were chaos.

There was a flash of red and suddenly the ghouls in front of Conway were completely split down the middle. They hardly even had time for the shock to register on their faces before their torsos were ripped from their legs. Blood sprayed across the walls as the cries of the dead ghouls rang out. Some of it splashed itself across Conway's face but she was too numb with shock to even notice. Within moments the thirty or so ghouls that had been about to attack her lay in heaps on the ground.

There in the center of the tracks stood another vampire. Her back was to Conway but even under the copious amounts of blood that had splattered it Conway could make out a Hellsing uniform. Conway's brain registered with some amount of shock that the vampire before her was Seras Victoria.

The vampire turned to face Conway and she realized immediately that this was not the Seras Victoria she knew. The girl's left arm had been replaced by a dark shadow that seemed to ripple outwards from its point of origin at her shoulder. Seras's fangs were bared as well, and they were dripping with the blood of the ghouls she'd just ripped apart. Most notable though were the eyes. Though she couldn't quite make out their color through her night vision, Conway could still see the way they glowed in the dark tunnel. Seras turned her eyes to meet Conway's gaze and Conway could see the power and the bloodlust that lurked behind them.

Conway could barely process what she was seeing. The Seras Victoria before her looked nothing like the girl who teased the new recruits. This was a monster, a killer who had ripped 30 ghouls to shreds with barely any effort.

Conway could feel her legs beginning to shake. Before she could gain control of them they failed her and she collapsed to her knees. Seras was moving towards her now, but Conway could only stare up at her, dumb from the shock. Would Seras attack her next? Would the vampire be able to control herself with such a murderous gleam in her eyes? Vaguely Conway registered that her gun was resting against her calf, but even as the thought came to her she knew that a single bullet would have no effect on the monster before her.

Seras must have sensed the fear coming off of Conway, because as the vampire drew closer her expression softened. She stopped directly in front of the shaking Conway and offered the hand that had not been consumed by shadow.

"Are you alright?" she asked, but her voice was different from the one Conway knew. It sounded like Seras, but at the same time it had taken on an otherworldly echo that seemed to match the girl's change in form. It sent another shiver down Conway's spine.

Still, Conway nodded in response, unable to move her eyes off of Seras's face as she took the proffered hand. She could feel Seras's strength as the vampire pulled her to her feet as though she weighed absolutely nothing.

"Stay close," Seras said. The strange echo in her voice still caught Conway off guard but she recognized that sticking with Seras was her best chance of survival.

She stared at the vampire's back as they made their way back down the tunnel the way they'd come, stepping over the remains of fallen ghouls as they went. How could this be the same Seras Victoria that Conway knew? How had Hellsing kept the existence of such a powerful being under wraps?

Conway doubted many knew of Seras Victoria's true potential. She was unlike any other vampire Conway had ever seen. Sure, she'd heard stories about the Hellsings' former vampire, Alucard, and the strange and limitless powers he possessed. She also knew it was the mysterious Alucard who had sired Seras. Even so, no one at Hellsing seemed to know Seras's true capabilities.

What would they do if Seras ever decided to turn on humanity? She had ripped through an army of ghouls as though they were tissue paper. What forces did Hellsing command that could possibly hope to combat this kind of power?

Seras stopped walking and Conway very nearly walked into her. Conway looked over at the vampire and found her staring into the distance.

"He's nearby," Seras said, and it took Conway a moment to realize she must be referring to the vampire they'd been sent in to capture in the first place.

Conway didn't know how to respond but before she could react at all Seras was moving again. "This way," she said. She was moving so quickly now that Conway nearly had to sprint to keep up.

They raced down two tunnels that seemed to go on forever before they finally came upon the remains of what had once been a station platform. There was another army of ghouls here, surrounding a lone vampire who appeared to be their master.

In Conway's experience, when she and her teammates found themselves face to face with a vampire the creature would almost always address them with an air of self-assurance. The vampires were certain they would not be brought down by the likes of mere humans, so they would often gloat up until the moment they found themselves with a blessed silver bullet in their hearts.

However, upon seeing Seras the vampire in charge seemed to practically cower back in fear.

"N-no please," he stuttered, eyes darting frantically around the room as though he were a cornered animal. Seras paid him no heed as she advanced. In a matter of moments she had slashed through his remaining ghouls, splattering the walls and the vampire before her in their blood. Conway hung back, frightened but too fascinated to look away.

"Please spare me," the vampire begged, dropping to his knees. "You know what I have done is in our nature. You are only fighting what we are."

Seras stared down at vampire as he begged. Her face showed no emotion. She looked as though she were regarding an insect.

Conway could not believe the way this vampire was reacting to Seras. Teams of five or six highly trained soldiers were generally sent in to deal with these cases and the vampires they faced hardly even broke a sweat. Yet here was a vampire, one that had controlled an entire army of ghouls, practically crying in the face of a single girl.

Conway jolted back to reality as Seras spoke again. "You know nothing about our nature," she said, eyes filled with contempt. With that, the shadow that was her left arm shot out and pierced the vampire straight through the heart. As the shadow returned to Seras, the enemy vampire burst into flames that burned until nothing was left.

Seras turned to Conway again. Her eyes seemed even more frightening now if that were even possible.

"This mission is completed," she said. Almost immediately she began to change before Conway's eyes. Her rows of fangs took on the appearance of normal, human teeth. The shadows trailing from her shoulder slowly changed shape until they looked like a normal arm once more. Finally, Seras closed her glowing eyes and when she opened them again they had presumably returned to the normal baby blue orbs Conway had known before.

The change was so sudden that Conway didn't know how to react. Standing before her now was the Seras Victoria she recognized. She was still covered in blood but there was no trace of the monster that had stood in her place only moments before.

Seras smiled and asked, "Are you alright, Officer Conway?" Her voice has lost the strange ethereal aspect it had before. She just sounded like Seras.

Conway nodded, unsure of how else to respond. Seras seemed satisfied by this and replied, "Right, then let's be on our way shall we?"

With that they made their way out of the ruins in silence, Seras in the lead. With the vampire defeated all of the ghouls had fallen as well, so they met no opposition as they made their way back.

The moon was high when they reached the outside, and Conway took a deep breath of the fresh air. She could hardly believe she'd made it out alive. There had been a moment she was certain she would die down in that maze of rubble and never see the sky again. As she emerged into the night, Prince and Farley rushed to meet her. Their relief that she was safe was almost palpable.

Conway glanced over to where Seras was speaking with the captain, no doubt informing him that the vampire target had been taken care of. Conway somehow doubted Seras would be relaying all of the details of what had transpired.

Conway wondered what the point was of Seras hiding her true potential. Was it her own decision or an order from the higher ups in Hellsing? Did the organization not want its soldiers to know the extent of the power they wielded? Or did they not want to cause a panic amongst the ranks by showing them what kind of a monster Seras really was?

Still, looking at her now it was hard to believe Seras had been capable of her actions down in the crypt. From this angle she looked just like a harmless young girl.

Once she appeared to have finished speaking with the captain, Seras turned to leave. Conway broke away from Farley and Prince and went after her.

"Officer Victoria," she said, and the vampire turned around to face her.

"Officer Conway?" she said uncertainly. She seemed a bit shy and uncomfortable now that the ordeal was over.

"I didn't get to properly thank you. You saved my life back there. I wouldn't have had a prayer if you hadn't shown up," Conway said.

"Oh no, not at all," Seras responded, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm just glad to see you're all right." After a moment her face became serious. "Listen, if you could I'd prefer you not tell anyone what you saw back there," she said. She didn't elaborate but she certainly didn't have to, "I just…I don't want anyone to be afraid."

Conway blinked at the vampire, not certain she'd heard correctly. Was that really what Seras was concerned about? Conway would have been sure it was some come of trick, but Seras had just saved her life and she did seem awfully sincere.

So, after a moment's pause, Conway nodded. Seras seemed to relax immediately and smiled. "Thank you," she said with a nod.

With that Seras turned to leave again, but in a sudden burst of courage Conway stopped her. "Seras," she called, and the girl turned back to face her once more. She didn't seem bothered that Conway had called her by her first name. "You are on our side aren't you?"

Seras seemed surprised for a moment before she smiled and replied, "Yes of course. I will always be an ally to the Hellsing organization."

Conway watched Seras go, staring at her back as the vampire disappeared into the night.

She hoped for humanity's sake that Seras was telling the truth.


	6. Scene 6

Sorry for the delay with this chapter. Finals are almost upon me so free time is getting scarcer and scarcer. This is the last oneshot I have written as of now. Ideally I'd like to write two more to tie this little series up a bit more neatly but I'm not sure if or when I'll have the time. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to get that done. For now this one is a pretty standard story but hopefully still entertaining. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

London was just not the same, Seras thought from her perch atop the roof of a small tea shop. She gazed at her surroundings, taking in the newly constructed buildings and the freshly paved roads. In the five years since the war there had been a massive amount of reconstruction in the ruined city. Bodies had been removed and those humans who could be identified had been buried, the streets had been scrubbed of the blood left behind, and finally the work of rebuilding a fallen London had begun.

There had been some attempts to return parts of the city to the way they'd been before. A reconstructed Big Ben loomed in the distance, one of the few reminders of London's past. As Seras gazed at it the bells began to toll. It was half past midnight.

Most of the city's famous buildings and landmarks had not been so lucky. There had been so much devastation and ruin that it had been impossible to return London to its former glory. Buildings that had been hundreds of years old had been blown to smithereens, replaced by newer models that were constructed in a haste to get the city back on its feet.

Still, Seras supposed the fact that the city had been able to recover from such devastation at all was a feat to be marveled at. It had been slow going, but eventually people had begun to repopulate London. Families that had survived and been displaced by the war began to trickle back in, repopulating a city that was both the same and different from the one they'd known. Shops had opened, school had resumed, and slowly but surely the gears of daily life had begun to turn. London might not yet have returned to what it once was, but at least it was on the right path.

Seras shifted her attention as a lone figure passed in front of the shop she had chosen as her lookout point. It was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. Her gait was slightly irregular and she seemed unable to walk a straight line. Seras could detect the scent of alcohol on her from 10 meters away. That did not bode well.

London might be on the mend, but most of its denizens knew better than to leave their homes after dark.

Humans were not the only ones who had taken it upon themselves to repopulate the city once it had been rebuilt. There had been a good many vampires who had seen the weakened city and lack of opposition as a sort of open invitation. With Hellsing still slowly rebuilding their ranks in the immediate years following the disaster, the organization had hardly been able to quell such advances.

All of that was about to change. It had been nearly four years since Hellsing had resumed operations. They had trained hundreds of new soldiers and the organization was nearing the strength it'd had before its near annihilation. The only problem left now was that most of the city's vampires still didn't see the Hellsing Organization as much of a threat.

That was where Seras came in.

This was not to undermine the importance of the organization's human operatives. The soldiers in Hellsing's employ were more than a match for your every day run-of-the-mill vampire threats. The problem was that the vampires themselves didn't quite see it that way. They were much more inclined to be wary of a powerful member of their own kind, as they had been in the days of Alucard. It was that type of fear that kept lesser vampires from acting in the first place, rather than making a mess for Hellsing's human troops to sweep in and clean up.

In order to capitalize on that fear once more, Sir Integra had ordered Seras out into the city to send a message to those who would terrorize the people of London. Hellsing had been keeping Seras' existence mostly under wraps in the past years, playing her as more of a trump card kept fairly close to the chest. However, now that the organization was back to full strength the plan had changed. Now Sir Integra wanted to show the vampires of London that Hellsing meant business.

It was this turn of events that had led to Seras playing vigilante vampire on her nights off for the past week. This was the third time she'd been out patrolling the streets in search of aberrant vampire activity. The first two nights had proved uneventful, but Seras had a feeling this time would be different. After all, a young girl walking rather conspicuously alone through the night was practically a flashing neon display.

Deciding that this girl was in fairly immediate danger, Seras determined that the best course of action would be to follow her until she reached her destination. After all, if Seras had spotted her there was a good chance any other vampires in the area might have taken notice as well.

That though in mind, Seras began to trail the drunken girl, keeping to the shadows of the rooftops along the street. She moved easily even though she was still in her more human appearance, leaping deftly over the spaces in between buildings. She took in more and more of London as she went, marveling once more at how different the city was now from the one she'd known before.

Seras had always had a special place in her heart for London. The orphanage where she'd grown up had been a good ways outside the city so she hadn't had many occasions to visit. However on very rare days every couple of years, when those who ran the orphanage were feeling particularly magnanimous, the children would be herded into the city to visit a museum or see a show at the children's theatre. Those were days that Seras had cherished. They were a brief respite from the dreary walls of the orphanage and the devastation of having had her family taken from her too soon. On those days she marveled and laughed just like all of the other children.

Seras had always thought she would move to London one day, once she'd saved enough money. She began her job on the police force and told herself that it was the first step towards a life she'd always wanted. Unfortunately fate had other plans for her, and shortly after she'd become a vampire the Nazis had razed the city to the ground. Seras had watched London burn with clenched teeth and a heavy heart.

This city had seen enough devastation. Seras would make certain it didn't see any more.

She had already trailed the drunk girl several blocks and was beginning to think that her presence wouldn't be needed after all when two shady looking figures materialized out of the shadows. Without hesitation they fell into step behind the girl and began to close in on her. The girl didn't even seem to notice their presence, but Seras did. She paused from her place on the rooftop to watch the scene unfold.

In a matter of moments, the two vampires had caught up to the girl. One of them stepped in front of her, blocking her path, while the other circled behind. Seras could see that they were both young males, likely common in both power and ability. The girl started at the sudden appearance of another presence on the otherwise empty street. She took a nervous step backwards, straight into the waiting arms of the vampire behind her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her back, effectively trapping the girl where she stood.

"What's a pretty young thing like you doing out here at night all by herself?" asked the vampire who had her in his grasp.

The girl struggled uselessly against his grip. "Hey, leggo me," she slurred. She seemed only mildly annoyed by her predicament. The severity of the situation was lost on her.

"Oh come now," said the other vampire, the one standing in front of her, "That's rude. We were just going to offer to walk you home."

"I dun need any help," the girl protested, still struggling uselessly against her captor's grasp, "I said lemme go."

"Are you sure about that?" asked the first vampire, a sinister look on his face "These days it can be pretty dangerous for young girls to be walking around on their own after dark."

The vampire in front took another step closer and placed his finger under the girl's chin, lifting her face up to meet his eyes. Even from her perch Seras could see the way they glowed in the darkness. This finally seemed to alert the girl to the type of creatures she was dealing with.

The girl's demeanor changed immediately. Her struggling intensified and her look of annoyance had turned to one of panic. "H-hey wait," she said. The shock of adrenaline she was experiencing seemed to have sobered her considerably. The vampires were closing in on her now. Both of them had bared their fangs. Seras decided this was as good a time as any to intervene.

In one quick motion she leapt from her place on the roof and landed nimbly on the sidewalk eight meters below, just a few paces from where the vampires and their prey were standing. The two vampires were surprised by her sudden appearance and turned to look at her. The girl seemed oblivious to the new presence and continued trying to struggle out of her captor's grasp.

"Let her go," Seras said, trying to infuse as much authority into her voice as she was able. In truth she still hadn't quite gotten used to being a commanding presence, even after all this time.

The vampires paused for a moment, likely still surprised, before one of them said, "Hey, go find your own meal. This one's ours."

Seras narrowed her eyes and took another step forward. She was still wearing her more human appearance so it was not surprising the two other vampires weren't taking her more seriously.

"I'm Seras Victoria of the Hellsing Organization and I'm not going to say this again. Let. Her. Go." she demanded.

At her words the expressions on the other vampires' faces soured. "Oh so you're the little Hellsing bitch," the one who was standing in front of the girl said. He moved his hand away from the girl's face and turned his attention to Seras. "A vampire who hunts her own kind. You're a disgrace," he spat.

"That's a matter of opinion I suppose," Seras bit back. The vampire was advancing towards her now but she stood her ground.

In a split second he was upon her. The vampire grabbed Seras by the neck and lifted her off her feet, but she hardly reacted to his attack. As he tightened his grip on her neck Seras' eyes turned a deep shade of red.

The vampire had no time to even register Seras' change in form before her shadows ripped him in half. Blood splattered the pavement as he fell, choking on his own blood, eyes wide with shock. He looked up at her one last time and Seras met his gaze with cold indifference. He gasped one more time and fell silent.

The other vampire was growing nervous now. He backed away from Seras, dragging his hostage with him. "H-hey," he sputtered, "Don't come any closer, you bitch. Take one more step and I'll tear this girl's head off." The girl he was holding was shaking uncontrollably. She looked almost numb from terror and shock. There were tears streaming down her face but she uttered no sound.

Seras did not respond but simply looked the other vampire up and down, assessing the situation. After a moment she shot her shadowy arm out and pierced his gut, missing the girl he was holding by mere centimeters. The vampire loosened his grip in his shock and Seras used that opportunity to envelope the girl with her shadows and pull her out of the way. The vampire fell backwards, gripping his wounds in agony as Seras came closer.

She stopped in front of him as he looked up at her, eyes narrowed in defiance. "Go," she said, and she could see the confusion on the vampire's face. She would let this one live. The point of all of this was to send a message to the vampires of London after all. It wouldn't do for her to kill the messenger. "Go and tell the others what lies in store for them if they prey on the people of London. This is Hellsing's city," she said, " _My_ city."

The other vampire looked for a moment like he might attempt to attack her, but he seemed to think better of it. With one last defiant look he turned tail and fled into the night, blood still gushing from the wound Seras had inflicted. She watched him retreat before turning back to the girl she'd rescued.

Seras had knocked her off her feet when she'd pulled her away from the other vampire, and the girl was still sitting on the ground looking dumbfounded. When Seras' gaze fell upon her the girl recoiled and shuffled backwards. Seras sighed. Even after all this time she would never get used to humans looking at her with such fear in their eyes.

"It's alright," Seras said, her voice echoing in the quiet night, "You're safe now." She offered a hand but the girl moved even further backwards and stood on her own. She looked Seras up and down for a moment. The girl was still shaking from fear and adrenaline. After a moment she turned away from Seras and fled in the opposite direction down the street.

"Well you're welcome," Seras mumbled, watching the girl's retreating back. There was no sense going after her. After all, the girl was safe and that was really all that mattered.

Seras watched the girl until she saw her reach her home a few blocks away. Satisfied, she turned and leapt back onto the rooftops as the bells of the clock tower began to chime once more.


	7. Scene 7

So it's been a while but I've finally gotten around to writing the next chapter in this little series. Funny enough since starting this story I've actually moved to London and I've been living there for the past 8 months. Happy to report that I don't feel I've had too many inconsistencies in previous chapters.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this one. If all goes according to plan there will be one more chapter after this one to tie things off nicely but I make no promises as to when I will get around to writing it. Thanks again to all who have read and reviewed, it's always appreciated!

* * *

Sir Integra Hellsing stood at the window of her office, gazing out across the grounds of her estate as she had many times before. The moon was full tonight, hanging low in the sky and casting a soft light across the scenery. It was a sight Integra had grown quite used to in her long years as the head of Hellsing.

Integra turned away from the window with a sigh and lit a cigar as she took a seat in the high backed chair behind her desk. She spared a quick glance at the calendar. The date glared back at her in bold black font: April 27. It was her birthday.

No one else was aware of this bit of information, of course. Integra had hardly any close relations these days, and even if she had she was hardly one for fuss and parties. She could not even remember the last time she had celebrated a birthday. Most years she allowed them to pass by unnoticed, treating the day no differently from any other. This year was different. This year she turned forty-two.

It was the same age her father had been when he'd died.

Integra had always avoided thoughts of the family line and succession. In her younger days she'd focused her energies solely on performing her role as head of the family. Deep down she supposed she'd always known she had no intentions to marry. She was not a woman prone to overt displays of affection, and her forceful personality tended to be a bit too much for mortal men to handle. No, Integra had never really entertained the idea of sharing her life with another.

Still, she did feel some measure of guilt that the end of the Hellsing line would be by her hand. There were duties she had as head of the family, and in her life she had made it her sole purpose to uphold them to the best of her ability. The lack of a successor was her one and only failing. She wished her parents had given her siblings so that perhaps one of them could have accomplished this task in her place. As it was, her father had placed the burden solely on Integra's shoulders, and it was a weight she could not carry.

Now Integra was the same age her father had been when he'd passed the family legacy onto her, but Integra had no children of her own. It was time to begin thinking about the future of the Hellsing organization.

Integra put out her cigar and leaned back in her chair. Her thoughts had been in turmoil for the better part of the day. It was not something Integra was used to. Normally her mind was as calm and collected as her exterior, allowing her to make the best use of her powers of reason and judgment. She was frustrated that she had allowed the situation to unsettle her so.

She was getting nowhere simply stewing on this matter alone in her office at any rate. She considered simply retiring to her chambers, before she decided she was in no mood to sleep. After a bit of thought she decided she could rather use some company.

"Seras," she called. She hardly raised her voice, but she knew the vampire would hear her. These days Seras had grown quite attuned to the goings on in the mansion. The girl's power had only continued to grow in time and she had become quite an impressive creature. Integra would have been concerned had Seras' loyalty to Hellsing not been completely unflinching.

A moment later Seras appeared. She phased through the wall and into the room with ease, a look of concern on her face.

"Is everything all right, Sir Integra?" she asked, eyes scanning the room for any signs of disturbance.

"Yes, Seras," Integra said, motioning for the vampire to take the vacant seat in front of her desk. Even after 20 years Integra could not quite get over the genuine concern displayed on the vampire's face. Seras still wore her very human emotions entirely on her sleeve. She truly was a marvel. "I simply called you here to talk," Integra continued.

At that Seras noticeably relaxed and she smiled. In most scenarios it would be unthinkable that Sir Integra of Hellsing would call on someone for a matter as trivial as casual conversation, but the relationship between Integra and Seras was atypical. Integra would never admit it of course, but Seras was her only remaining close friend.

Seras took a seat as Integra rose from hers to pour herself a glass of whiskey. "Shall I have some blood sent up?" she asked as she replaced the stopper on the bottle.

"Oh no thank you, I've already had," Seras declined.

Integra nodded and returned to her seat, sipping her drink. Seras sat across from her, her red eyes glowing but holding no malice. Even with the arm of shadows trailing from her left shoulder she looked the picture of innocence.

In the early years after the war Seras had chosen to hide her true appearance. Integra would have thought it strange had it been any other vampire. Most of them were engaged in an eternal pissing contest. Alucard had been the worst of the lot. Those who'd called his power into question were likely find the entirety of their remains could fit into a very small box.

But Seras had always held interests very different from those of other vampires. Instead of using her power for her own needs she sought to use it to protect. She was a kind soul, and gentle though she possessed a frightening power. Integra knew that Seras had hidden her true appearance in order to be accepted by the human soldiers, and to avoid alarming them.

In more recent years that had ceased to be a problem. Seras had proven time and again that her loyalties lay with Hellsing, and in doing so had gained the trust of her comrades. She had also revealed her abilities slowly, allowing the soldiers time to get used to the things she was capable of. These days she wore her power on her sleeve, using it both to boost the morale of the troops and to keep enemy vampires at bay. Instead of fearing her, the troops relied on her. Seras Victoria was almost as much the face of Hellsing as Sir Integra herself.

That was part of the true reason Integra had called her here.

Integra took another sip of her drink and said, "Today is my forty-second birthday." Her tone gave no indication that this information was of any concern but Seras' eyes widened considerably.

"What?" she asked, eyes wide, "Is it really your birthday?" Seras was leaning forward in her chair. Integra supposed it was not too unusual a reaction. In the twenty years they'd known each other Integra had never brought up the subject once. Integra chuckled.

"Yes but that's not really the important matter at hand," Integra replied.

Seras seemed to disagree. She piped up immediately, "It's still early! Why don't we have the kitchens whip up a cake or something? I'm sure the troops would welcome the distraction."

Integra chuckled. "Now, now Seras, do you really think me the type for cakes and parties?"

Seras visibly deflated. "I suppose not," she conceded. Her face became serious as she continued, "You've never mentioned your birthday before."

Integra swirled the contents of her glass and responded, "This is a rather…special year. Today I'm the same age my father was when he died and placed the responsibilities of Hellsing on my shoulders."

Integra could tell by the look on Seras's face that the vampire understood the implications. "Sir Integra-" Seras began, but Integra cut her off.

"Seras at this point I believe it is very clear that the Hellsing line of succession will come to an end after I die. The Institute's noble mission will likely pass on to a government body or to an appointed official," Integra said.

Seras nodded but did not speak, sensing that Integra was not yet finished.

"Seras you are as much a part of Hellsing now as I am. This organization could never have been rebuilt without your aid after the war nor could we have achieved everything we have today," Integra continued.

Seras nodded and said, "It's been an honor to serve Hellsing."

Integra knew how much Seras meant those words. The girl had given her all to protecting the Organization and its members. Still, Integra asked, "And will you still feel that way after I die?"

Seras did not seem surprised by the question. She likely knew it had been coming. "Of course," she said, without a moment of hesitation.

"You have no bonds to this place Seras. There is nothing keeping you here as there was with Alucard and your power has grown nearly to rival his in the time that I've known you. I just want to know that this organization, that humanity, will be safe once I'm no longer around to keep an eye on you," Integra said. Her tone was serious but there was still a hint of a smile on her lips.

Seras, for her part, seemed highly offended by the implications of Integra's words. "Sir," she began, a hint of her wounded pride slipping into her tone, "you can't honestly believe I would ever even abandon this organization, let alone wish it harm, just because of your absence." She paused and then smiled, her tone changing to one of jest as she said, "Forgive me Sir, but you're not that special."

Integra let out a proper laugh and then took a swig of her whiskey before responding, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Hell, if it wasn't such a taboo I'd just put you in charge of Hellsing and be done with it."

"Hellsing must always be lead by a human, Sir Integra," Seras responded.

Integra waved her hands in dismissal and said, "Oh you're barely a vampire anyway Seras,"

In response Seras bared her fangs and said, "How about I suck your blood and we see about that?"

"Hah, what a bloody wonderful birthday present that would be," Integra chuckled, leaning back in her chair and taking another sip of her drink as the pair fell into companionable silence for a few moments. If you'd told Integra thirty years ago that she'd have such easy companionship with a vampire she'd have thought you mad. It turned out they weren't all as insufferable as Alucard had been.

After a few more moments Integra spoke again, "Very well then Seras, I'm going to leave it to you to keep an eye on this place. I'll rest a lot easier knowing there's someone trustworthy watching over the organization. And if whatever buffoon is appointed in my stead isn't doing their job correctly you have my permission to give them a good scare every once in a while."

"I don't believe I'd be half as scary as you are Sir," Seras teased.

Integra finished off her whiskey and placed the empty glass on the table, wearing her characteristic smirk. "Quite right."

A few more moments of silence passed before, after a beat, Seras said, "So are you sure you don't want to see what can be done about that cake then?"

"Seras at this stage I am about as likely to eat birthday cake as you are," Integra replied.

"Very well then," Seras conceded with a sigh. "Happy birthday anyway, Sir."

"I suppose it is."


End file.
